Book Review of MISERY by Stephen King

MISERY by Stephen King (Viking, June 1987) Hardcover, 310 pages. Winner of Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel 1987. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Stephen King is arguably the most popular novelist in the history of American fiction. He owes his fans a love letter. Misery is it.

Paul Sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances, wakes up one winter day in a strange place, a secluded farmhouse in Colorado. He wakes up to unspeakable pain (a dislocated pelvis, a crushed knee, two shattered legs) and to a bizarre greeting from the woman who has saved his life: "I'm your number one fan!"

Annie Wilkes is a huge ex-nurse, handy with controlled substances and other instruments of abuse, including an axe and a blowtorch. A dangerous psychotic with a Romper Room sense of good and bad, fair and unfair, Annie Wilkes may be Stephen King's most terrifying creation. It's not fair, for example, that her favorite character in the world, Misery Chastain, has been killed by her creator, as Annie discovers when Paul's latest novel comes out in paperback. And it's not good that her favorite writer has been a Don't-Bee and written a different kind of novel, a nasty novel, the novel he has always wanted to write, the only copy of which now lies in Annie's angry hands.

Because she wants Paul Sheldon to be a Do-Bee, she buys him a typewriter and a ream of paper and tells him to bring Misery back to life. Wheelchair-bound, drug-dependent, locked in his room, Paul doesn't have much choice. He's an entertainer held captive by his audience. A writer in serious trouble. But writers have weapons too...

My Five-Star Rating on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     What can I say about this great novel that hasn't already been said? King is just a master storyteller and writer (in spite of what his character Paul Sheldon says about the difference between the two); and this early work exhibits many of the skills that he would later hone so well. 

     I don't recall reading this before, although the memory of the film is still fresh. (Annie Wilkes is such a frightening, unforgettable character - in the movie, and even more so in the novel). Thanks to the Horror Haven community for making this a May 2024 group read. That was all the incentive I needed to finally get to this.

Some of my notes in the group read:

MAY 12 - - Just started reading today. It will be fun to compare and contrast King's writing style then (Misery, 1978) with today (Holly, 2023). I can already see some differences. Not that it matters, because I'm appreciative of both. He's always been able to capture everyone's fears, then and now. Such a creative and imaginative mind.

I recall seeing the movie once or twice and being thoroughly engaged. Kathy Bates was a great choice for Annie. I think I got behind on reading King several decades back (and never really caught up) and have only seen the movie before.

I believe King was still honing his craft at this point in his career. I've come to expect some drawn-out scenes and narratives in his writing and have a good tolerance for them. He manages to get away with them, where other writers would not. It's a skill.

MAY 14 - - - One of the many things I admire and appreciate about King's writing: the more his characters internalize, the more realistic they become. Chapter 14, where Paul adds taglines to describe the various feelings he is experiencing, is brilliant: 

"King of Pain. Pretty Thirsty. I Got The Hungries. " . . . and he began to feel like nothing more than a slice of living tissue on a microscope slide or a worm on a hook --something, anyway, twisting endlessly, and waiting only to die." 

I"m enjoying this so much I only read a few of these short chapters at a time. My appreciation is growing, while at the same time I can understand why others don't feel it or flat-out don't care for it.

MAY 18 - - - Still on my slow read of MISERY, one or two short chapters at a time.

Another highlight for me: In Part 2, Chapter 5 Paul Sheldon reflects on writing insights, ideas and inspiration, and breaking writers' block and does it by way of related anecdotes. A neat, tight way to get into his character and also share some writer tips and tricks.